November 29, 2015

Over the weekend of November 7-8, Golda Och Academy put on its annual play at the Luna Stage in West Orange. Every year, the play is an opportunity to showcase the talented actors in our student body; however, this year’s show – Almost, Maine – is different from anything our school has produced before.Almost, Maine is a show made up of 11 different vignettes, short scenes that lasts about 10-15 minutes. Each vignette takes place in the same small town, Almost, Maine, so called because it is almost in Canada.When asked about the slightly unusual structure of the show, senior Veronica Slater said, “I think that it’s great that every actor has an equal role.”“There’s no actual lead, but everybody gets to be a part of the show. It’s a great way to kick off the 2015-2016 Arts season!”On the surface, these scenes – aside from the prologue, interlogue and epilogue – are completely unrelated. Since the scenes take place in the same small town, however, the characters know one another and even reference characters and locations from other vignettes.The scenes are also connected by a common plot device, or what the play’s writer John Cariani calls the “magical moment.”In each scene, this moment of revelation, drama or reconciliation takes place at exactly the same time: nine o’clock at night.One remarkable feature of GOA’s rendition of Almost, Maine was the Northern Lights. The stage crew amazed the audience with their visual recreation of the famous natural phenomenon.“We are going to be using some old fashioned theatrical trickery,” said Ms. Watson, when asked how she planned to create the Northern Lights in the theater. “Smoke and mirrors. Well, at least mirrors. Mirrors, light, and reflected light. It will be exciting.”Golda Och Academy’s already successful Arts season continues in January with Into the Woods and later in the spring with A Year with Frog and Toad.